Subcargo-unloading apparatus for ships



Sept. 4, 11923.

L. D. SMITH SUBCARGO UNLOADING' APPARATUS FOR SHIPS Filed Feb. 14, 1925 IIILI I IIIz III livll Patented Sept; 4, 1923.

N T STATES LEATHEM ID. SMITH, OFYSTURGEON BAY, WISCONSIN.

SU'IBCABGUUNLOADING APPARATUS non SHIPS.

Application filed February 14, 1923. Serial No. 618,885.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known' that I,LEATHEM D. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sturgeon Bay, in the county of Door and State of Wisconsin, haye invented certain newand useful Improvements in Subcargo- Unloading Apparatus for Ships, oi which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus through means of which bulk cargo of subdivided material may be withdrawn from a transport container, such as the hold of a vessel, by a systematic and continuous attack upon the bottom of the pile at a location toward which the entire cargo will gradually s matter of carrying the material past the! feed by gravity.

It haslong been proposed to provide in the hold of a vessel, drag scrapers, scoops,

' or the like, resting upon thetop of the pile 2 of subdividedv material to be removed, and

directed in their travel through a path that advances the material toward a point of discharge, but such anarrangement is unsatisfactory and inefi'ective,' particularly in the point of disohargebecause the scraper or'ad vancing means is working upon the top of the mass and at a constantly changing level.

. ativelylarge space required for its accommodation with consequent reduction in hold capacity. It has even been proposed to employ a roofed trough with side openings to admit material, such as cereal grains, and to locate such a trough beneath the cargo in a position toward which the material will gravitate and locatev in the bottom of said trough an endless screw for advancing the material toward a point of discharge. But this arrangement is objectionable in that it involves practical submergence of the conveyin element by the material being handled.

lhe object of the present invention is to provide an improved power driven apparatus for removing bulk cargo of subdividedmatcrial from the hold of a vessel, and particularly one which will be adapted for handling heavy, harsh, and highlyfabrasive materials which may lack uniformity of size 1n their subdivision. Accordingly, the invention proceeds upon the principle of prosubcargo, a tunnel preferably de-' viding, signed in itself to direct the flow of subdivided material toward its own side or sides, and associating it with other deflecting surfaces which so direct the flow of material; the tunnel being open at a side or sides to admit the material within it in re stricted quantities, or at an angle of repose inherent in the material being handled; and

the construction of the tunnel being such that t will at all times maintain above the material so admitted an unobstructed pas sageway or channel of attack which afi'ords access; to the top of the restricted body of material in the tunnel, for conveying means, preferably in the form of a drag scraper, and for the mounting and controlling equipment for such conveying means as well as 'for the operatives or attendants who ma find it necessary toenter the space during unloading, for upkeep or management; of

the conveying apparatus as well as for con trol of the side openings of'the tunnel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a conveying apparatus which will not only serve to-s stematically attack and advancematerial rom beneath the cargo, but by continued movement of the conveying apparatus will forward the material to an upper level and either out of the vessel or within reach of additionalapparatus which will remove it.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, the preferred embodiment is shown wherein Figure 1 is a sideelevation, partly in longitudinal sectiom'of a vessel and unloading equipment embodying the several features of the invention.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Figure 1, taken on an enlarged scale.

Figure?) 15 a deta1l sectional view on a still larger scale.

in the accompanying drawings,

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view of t the means for recelving and disposing of the material delivered by the drag scraper. 1 represents the hull of a vessel which may be provided with the usual water bot-' tom 1 and main cargo bottom 1". 2 represents tunnels extending longitudinally oi emme the tunnel and thereby adding the lower pm-- tion of the tunnel space to the normal carrying capacity ofthe vessel; conveying means being provided in the upper portion of the 5 tunnel for attacking the cargo material from above; said means comprising a scraper for acting upon the top of the cargo lying beneath the tunnel, and a drag line for seidr scraper including a primary lead and return lead, both of which are located in "the top space of the tunnel. I

Signed at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, this 10th day of February, 1923.

LEATHEM D. SMITH. 

